Italian Children's Attitudes towards National, Supranational, Local and Regional Groups.

Percezione della relazione con i genitori: differenze individuali nella connessione e nell’autonomia in adolescenza

THE ROLE OF TEMPERAMENTAL DIMENSIONS ON THE ONSET OF CHILDREN’S SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL: THE CASE OF ITALIAN POPULATION

The Good Parent: Southern Italian Mothers’ Conceptualization of Good Parenting and Parent–Child Relationships

Thirty mothers, ranging in age between 30 and 46 years, participated in seven focus groups aimed at analyzing perceptions and ideas of the characteristics of a good parent and parent–child relationship in southern Italy (Sicily). The discussions were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative analysis approach. Two major themes, discipline and affection, emerged from the discussions about the idea of a good parent, with seven further subthemes. In defining good parenting beliefs and practices, Sicilian mothers mostly believed that control, discipline, and demandingness were imperative and prioritized over warmth and responsiveness. Despite the importance given to demandingness…

Predictors of internalizing problems in preadolescence: a longitudinal study

Acculturation profiles, psychosocial adaptation and perceived discrimination among Tunisian adolescents

The study refers to data coming from the Italian section of MIRIPS project. It was focused on the analysis of the adaptation of Tunisian adolescents living in Italy and it was guided by the integration hypothesis, stating that migrants feel better if they are engaged in both their own culture and that of the larger society than if they engage in one or the other culture only. Using a person-oriented approach, the study investigated the relationships between acculturation profiles - namely patterns of relations between factors associated to the acculturation process (e.g., acculturation strategies, ethnic and national identities, ethnic and national language use, social contacts with people …

Psychometric Evaluation of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) in Italy

The purpose of this multistudy report was to adapt the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) to the Italian context. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we investigated the dimensionality, reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument in a sample of 544 participants (males = 41%) from 16 to 35 years old. In Study 2, we replicated the results concerning dimensionality in an independent sample of 502 participants (males = 42%) from 16 to 35 years old. Furthermore, we analyzed measurement invariance across gender. Results of both studies showed that comparing a series of competitive factorial models, the 6-factor model had the best f…

La formazione degli operatori dell'orientamento nella prospettiva dell'apprendimento nell'arco di vita.

Correlati e conseguenze dell'isolamento sociale

Questo volume fornisce un'ampia e articolata panoramica su uno dei compiti di sviluppo fondamentali dell'adolescenza: la conquista dell'autonomia psicologica. Gli autori illustrano il costrutto di autonomia adolescenziale nei suoi aspetti generali per poi offrirne una visione complessa, in cui il fenomeno è contestualizzato all'interno delle dinamiche e dei processi che caratterizzano il passaggio dall'adolescenza alla maturità.

Patterns of autonomy and intimacy in the parent-adolescent relationship: a longitudinal study

Condizioni di stress genitoriale, autonomia emotiva e adattamento psicologico durante l’adolescenza

УЧЕБНО РЪКОВОДСТВО ПО ПРОЕКТ Tra.C.I.E. Oбучение по гражданство и междукултурни отношения в Европа

Differenze individuali nei pattern di autonomia e connessione nella relazione genitori-adolescenti: Stabilità nel tempo

The relationships between acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment and intergroup relations among immigrant preadolescents and adolescents living in Italy

Manuale Tra.C.I.E.Educare alla Cittadinanza e all’Intercultura in Europa

Can we increase children’s rights endorsement and knowledge?: A pilot study based on the reference framework of competences for democratic culture

This pilot study is the first to examine whether a novel curriculum based on the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) could increase children’s endorsement and knowledge of children’s rights. We conducted a pre-test-post-test design with an intervention and a comparison school. Pupils (n = 172) from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Spain attended schools in which the curriculum was taught, whereas pupils in the comparison group (n = 120) attended schools in the same city where the curriculum was not taught. Both groups were tested on their endorsement and knowledge of rights before and at the end of the intervention. Children in the intervention group incre…

Autonomy and relatedness in mother-adoelscent relationship and parenting stress

Autonomy and relatedness in Italian emerging adults: Their relations with psychological well-being.

The national and supranational identity in Italian and Ukrainian adolescents: A cross-cultural comparison.

Some cultural differences in the meaning of parenting behavior

Aggressività e isolamento: il ruolo della reputazione sociale nell'adattamento

Relationships Between Ethnic Identity, Ethnic Attitudes, and Acculturative Stress in Tunisian Individuals in Early and Middle Adolescence

Framed from an integrative approach, the current article examined the associations between ethnic identity exploration (EIE), ethnic identity commitment (EIC), and acculturative stress by investigating the mediating role of ethnic attitudes (i.e., in-group favoritism and out-group derogation) in these relationships. Additionally, the moderating role of age was analyzed. A multiple-group path analysis was performed on data collected from 256 Tunisians in early and 248 in middle adolescence living in Italy, which is an interesting and understudied immigrant group characterized by similarities and differences with the host population. In younger adolescents, EIE and EIC were indirectly and po…

In-group Favouritism and Out-group Derogation in a Developmental Perspective: Italian Children’s Attitudes towards National Groups.

A cross-cultural study of behavioral inhibition in toddlers: East-West-North-South

The prevalence of behavioral inhibition in toddlers was examined in five cultures. Participants in this study included 110 Australian, 108 Canadian, 151 Chinese, 104 Italian, and 113 South Korean toddlers and their mothers who were observed during a structured observational laboratory session. Matched procedures were used in each country, with children encountering an unfamiliar stranger with a truck and a robot. Indicators of inhibition included the length of time toddlers delayed before approaching the stranger and the duration of contact with their mother while the stranger was in the room. Results were generally consistent with expectations and showed differences between eastern and we…

Le pratiche di socializzazione etnica nelle famiglie immigrate

La presente ricerca si proponeva l’obiettivo generale di analizzare le pratiche di socializzazione etnica che caratterizzano le madri immigrate indagando, in particolare, il ruolo che alcune variabili giocano sulle stesse. I risultati hanno confermato l’importanza dell’origine delle madri e del periodo di tempo trascorso dall’immigrazione. Le madri provenienti dall’Est - Europa utilizzavano, infatti, meno di altre la socializzazione culturale, mentre quelle arrivate in Italia da maggior tempo tendevano a promuovere una maggiore sfiducia nei confronti dei membri di altri gruppi. È stato inoltre considerato il ruolo delle strategie di acculturazione e dell’identità culturale delle madri. L’as…

Manual Tra.C.I.E. La educación intercultural y para la ciudadanía en Europa

Patterns of Autonomy and Intimacy in the Parent-Adolescent Relationship: A Comparison between Italian and Tunisian Adolescents

Autonomy and separation from parents as predictive factors of behavioural risk during adolescence

Autonomia e connessione nella relazione madre-adolescente

Intercultural Relations in Italy

In culturally diverse societies, one of the biggest questions on our minds is 'how shall we all live together?' The chapter offers an answer to this fundamental and topical issue. By exploring intercultural relationships between dominant/national and non-dominant/ethnic populations in Italy, the authors analyse 'general' principles of intercultural relations and guidelines for social inclusion.

Autonomy and relatedness among US and Italian emerging adults: The relations with parental practices and psychological adjustment

The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale: Construct and Predictive Validity in the Italian Context

The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) is a self-report instrument assessing the satisfaction and frustration of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness defined by self-determination theory. The aim of this study was to examine the dimensionality, the predictive validity, and the measurement invariance across different age groups of the Italian version of the BPNSFS. The participants were 2,204 Italian adolescents and young adults (41% males) from 14 to 28 years old (M age = 20.23, SD = 4.25). The invariance across age demonstrated adequate equivalence of the 6-factor model of scales across adolescents (14–18 years) and …

Loneliness and social adaptation in Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese and Italian children

Background:  Research on children's loneliness has been conducted mostly in Western, especially North American, cultures. The purpose of the study was to examine relations between loneliness and social adaptation among children and adolescents in four different societies. Methods:  A total of 2263 children from grade 3 to grade 6, aged 9 to 12 years, in Brazil, Canada, P. R. China, and Southern Italy participated in the study. The participants completed a self-report measure of loneliness. Information about social behaviors and peer relationships was obtained from peer assessments. Results:  Multi-group analyses revealed that the overall patterns of relations among social behaviors, peer re…

Il ruolo dei fattori intra e inter individuali nell’insorgenza dell’inibizione comportamentale

Mutual intercultural relations among immigrant and autochthonous youth in Italy. Testing the integration, multiculturalism, and contact hypotheses

Italy is increasingly becoming a culturally complex society. This poses numerous challenges for developmental and educational psychology, mainly in terms of how to encourage adequate levels of social harmony by promoting positive development of both immigrant and autochthonous youth. Within this perspective, the current paper presents the Italian findings of the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) international project, postulating the centrality of three core hypotheses: integration, multiculturalism, and contact. Two studies were performed to investigate these hypotheses. Study 1 comprised 188 Tunisian adolescents aged 13-18 (51% F; Mage=15.94), while Study 2 inclu…

Towards transational virtual study circles: an introduction to the E-report project

E-report is an European Union project aiming at the constitution of a repertory of reference material with regard to the development of innovative methods in the field of e-learning system for educational projects and also for distance learning in VET. The activities of research, experimentation and analysis are combined with the use of ICT with massive use of tutoring activities, learning groups and transnational virtual study circles.

Autonomy and Connectedness among Italian Emerging Adults: Their Relations with Psychological Well-Being

Emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations characterized by profound role changes across multiple life domains (Arnett, 2001). According to many authors (Aquilino, 2006; Fingerman, 2000), autonomy and relatedness both must be fulfilled for psychological growth and well-being not only during adolescence, but may be even more necessary as an adolescent makes the transition into emerging adulthood and then into adulthood. In this perspective, the autonomous-relational self is suggested to be a healthy synthesis of autonomy and relatedness (Kagitcibasi, 1996, 2007). Given that issues of autonomy and connectedness appear to be maj…

The influence of acculturation attitudes and ethnic identity on psychosocial adjustment of immigrant preadolescents and adolescents living in Italy

Il significato culturale del parenting: il caso della popolazione italiana.

L’identità europea e nazionale nel passaggio dall’infanzia alla preadolescenza

La ricerca intende esplorare, in bambini e preadolescenti italiani, i percorsi di costruzione dell’identità europea in rapporto a forme simili di identità sociale (nazionale, regionale e locale). A questo scopo sono stati intervistati 252 partecipanti (tra i 6 e i 12 anni) tramite una procedura che consente di rilevare – in relazione a ciascuna delle forme identitarie studiate – modalità di auto-categorizzazione, importanza relativa e grado di identificazione. I dati mostrano che l’identità europea diventa rilevante a 12 anni, quella regionale a 9, mentre l’identità nazionale e locale lo sono sin dai 6 anni. I risultati vengono commentati in una prospettiva socio-evolutiva, esaminandone le …

Individuality and intimacy: The case of detached and connected adolescents

L’influenza degli atteggiamenti verso l’acculturazione sull’adattamento psicosociale di immigrati adolescenti in Sicilia.

The outcomes of the integration process of immigrant youth are affected by two dimensions, namely “acculturation attitudes”: the attitude towards the maintenance of the heritage culture (cultural maintenance) and the attitude towards the contact with the host culture (cultural contact). Cultural maintenance and cultural contact affect the psychosocial adjustment of immigrant youth either directly and indirectly, through the mediator action of other variables, such as intergroup attitudes. The study was aimed at analyzing the relations between acculturation attitudes and psychosocial adjustment among Tunisian adolescents living in Sicily. Particularly, the aims of the study were twofold: (a)…

The Peer Obervation: "Mentore" Project at the University of Palermo

During the last six years, at the University of Palermo, a group of academics has been involved in a project called “MENTORE” (“Modifying and ENhancing Teaching through peer Observation and Reflections with Experts”). The objectives of the project are: to help teachers improve their teaching, through the help of two mentors; to experiment new approaches in pilot courses to extend, if useful, to other ones; and to change the traditional model of academic teaching based on one single teacher with the class to go towards a model where there is a group of teachers working together in search of improvements. All the participants of the MENTORE project attend to lectures/workshops on teaching and…

Problemi comportamentali internalizzanti ed esternalizzanti e caratteristiche personali dell’adolescente.

Psychological Well-Being and Career Indecision in Emerging Adulthood: The Moderating Role of Hardiness

Choosing a career path is an important developmental task during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. However, many emerging adults (EAs)-individuals between 18 and 29 years of age (Inguglia et al., 2016)-struggle to get their career decision-making processes under way because they need a long time to explore various possible career directions (Arnett, 2004; Miller & Rottinghaus, 2014). In particular, this condition concerns EAs who are never employed and is traditionally associated with the construct of career indecision (Gati et al., 2011; Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996), referring to the difficulties that can slow or even stop the career decision-making process.Among such difficul…

Manual Tra.C.I.E. - Formação em Cidadania e Educação Intercultural na Europa

Informant discrepancies in perceived parental psychological control, adolescent autonomy, and relatedness psychological needs

Abstract Framed from Self-Determination Theory and Family Systems Theory, the present multi-informant study sought to contribute to a better understanding of the relations between discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' perceptions of parental psychological control and satisfaction of adolescents' needs for autonomy and relatedness. Participants were 190 Italian intact families in which an adolescent was present (Mage = 16.47 years, SDage = 1.41). Our findings highlighted that: (1) adolescents generally tended to perceive higher levels of psychological control than their parents reported; (2) adolescents tended to rate mothers' psychological control higher than the mothers themselves, wh…

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN FACE-TO-FACE AND COMPUTER-SUPPORTED UNIVERSITY CONTEXTS

Parental psychological control, autonomy support and Italian emerging adult’s psychosocial well-being: a cluster analytic approach

According to a person-oriented approach, the study was addressed to inquire the existence of different groups of emerging adults (EAs) each characterized by distinct configurations of parental psychological control and autonomy support conceptualized in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF) and in terms promotion of independence (PI). At the study participated 476 Italian undergraduate students following the academic track in several south Italian universities. Results showed the existence of four profiles: 1. the Moderate Volitional Dependence cluster; 2. the Moderate Controlling Independence cluster; 3. the Volitional Independence cluster; 4. the Controlling Dependence cluste…

Socio-developmental aspects of European identity: The influence of age, gender and context

In the last years, researchers have been interested in understanding factors affecting the development of European identity. To contribute new insights to the literature, this study explored how age, gender and context variables influence the process of European identification and the attitudes towards Europeans in two different Italian groups: Northern Italians and Southern Italians. Interview data were collected from 1037 children and adolescents (472 males, 565 females), aged from 6 to 16 years old and living in northern and southern regions of Italy. They were asked to answer an individual interview during school time. For the particular purposes of the study, four main measures were us…

Separation-individuation process in italian adolescents

Individual Differences in Adolescents’ Civic Engagement: The Role of Civic Discussions with Parents and Environmental Sensitivity

The main goal of the current study was to examine the direct and moderating effects of civic dis-cussions with parents and environmental sensitivity using both the total score and its specific di-mensions (i.e., Aesthetic Sensitivity, AES; Ease of Excitation, EOE; Low Sensitivity Threshold, LST) on youth civic engagement (attitudes and behaviours). The empirical analysis relied on a ques-tionnaire-based survey conducted on a sample of 438 adolescents (30% males), aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 16.50, SD = 1.36). We used a structural equation model (SEM) with latent vari-ables and the latent moderated structural equation (LMS) method to test our hypotheses. Our re-sults showed that civic …

Satisfaction and frustration of autonomy and relatedness needs: Associations with parenting dimensions and psychological functioning

Framed from Basic Psychological Needs Theory (Ryan and Deci in American Psychologist 55:68–78; Ryan, Deci, American Psychologist 55:68–78, 2000) and Kagitcibasi’s Autonomous-Related Self Theory (Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36:1–20; Kagitcibasi, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 36:1–20, 2005), the study examined the relationships of adolescents’ satisfaction and frustration of autonomy and relatedness, with (a) adolescents’ perception of mother’s and father’s psychological control and autonomy support, and (b) adolescents’ self-acceptance and anxiety. Participants were 556 adolescents (M = 17.25, SD = 0.92). Path analysis showed more significant associations of autonomy support …

A Revised Short Form of the Extended Class Play Among Italian Early Adolescents

Among the measures assessing peer reputation, the Extended Class Play (ECP) is now used extensively in North American settings. Little information is available in other cultural contexts. Furthermore, practical considerations suggest developing a shorter form of the ECP to be used in socio-educational environments. This study examined the ECP dimensions of peer assessment in Italy as well as developed a shorter form of the measure. We revised the ECP using factor analyses according to an explorative-confirmatory approach. The original 37-item ECP was shortened to a 22-item version and, subsequently, the properties of the revised measure were evaluated. We performed two studies comprising, r…

Parenting Dimensions and Internalizing Difficulties in Italian and U.S. Emerging Adults: The Intervening Role of Autonomy and Relatedness

The present study examined the associations between emerging adults’ perceived parental psychological control and autonomy support, and their autonomy, relatedness and internalizing difficulties in Italy and the U.S. The participants included 494 Italian and 414 U.S. college students, between 18 and 28 years of age (Mean = 21.58, SD = 2.18). Our findings showed that dependency-oriented psychological control had no significant direct associations with autonomy, relatedness or internalizing difficulties. Moreover, the association between parental autonomy support and internalizing problems was fully intervened by autonomy and relatedness, whereas the association between achievement-oriented p…

Are children’s levels of national and supranational identification related to their attitudes towards the national and supranational ingroup and outgroups?

Tra.C.I.E.Handbook – Training Citizenship and Intercultural Education in Europe.

The assessment of susceptibility to emotional contagion: A contribution to the Italian adaptation of the “Emotional Contagion Scale”

The Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS; Doherty, 1997) is a self-report instrument assessing susceptibility to emotional contagion. The study was aimed at examining its dimensionality, reliability, and validity in the Italian context. It was completed by 541 young adults (45% men) in Study 1 and 649 young adults (40% men) in Study 2. The results of a series of confirmatory factor analyses showed that a bi-factor model, with one general factor and four specific factors was supported. The general and specific factors resulted differently related to self-other differentiation, empathy, emotional fragility, masculinity, and femininity. Notwithstanding, the results posited some questions about the E…

How Do Religiosity and Spirituality Associate with Health-Related Outcomes of Adolescents with Chronic Illnesses? A Scoping Review.

The aim of the current scoping review was to explore the associations between religious and spiritual factors and the health-related outcomes of adolescents with chronic illnesses, as well as to investigate possible mechanisms accounting for these relationships. In total, 20 studies meeting the eligibility criteria were reviewed after performing a search of the Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. The results suggested that religious and spiritual beliefs, thoughts, and practices (e.g., spiritual coping activities) might have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the way adolescents deal with their medical condition, on their psychosocial adjustment, on their mental and physic…

L’atteggiamento di apertura verso le differenze culturali in adolescenti italiani: il ruolo dell’età e della sicurezza percepita.

Resilienza e vulnerabilità psicologica nel corso dello sviluppo

Evaluating the filial behaviour scale across three cultural groups using exploratory structural equation modelling

Filial piety is a Confucian concept that guides how children treat and take care of their parents. The Filial Behaviour Scale (FBS) is a 25-item instrument developed in the Chinese context measuring behavioural manifestations of filial piety. Although the components of filial piety have been found to be relevant across cultures, little research has investigated the psychometric properties of the FBS in other cultural contexts. The present study evaluated the factor structure, internal consistency, measurement invariance and construct validity of the FBS across three cultural groups: the United States, Italy and Malaysia. Participants were 1090 emerging adults (67% females; Mage = 21.29 yea…

Promoting Democratic and Intercultural Competences in the Primary School Context: The experience of “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space”

The promotion of citizen’s democratic and intercultural competence is one of the main actions that European societies may take against some of the most significant challenges they are facing nowadays. The paper is aimed at briefly describing the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, some actions that can be taken to promote democratic and intercultural competences and a case of implementation of this framework in the context of primary school, that is the Erasmus+ Project “Children’s Voices for a new Human Space” (CVS). The paper also aims at illustrating the intellectual outputs produced by CVS project consisting in a training course for teachers, a…

Aggressive and boasting young adolescents: a comparison of their friendship

Identità ed etnie

Adolescen Emotional separation in parent-adolescent relationship: The role of adolescent personal characteristics.

Parenting beliefs and behaviors: Initial findings from the International Consortium for the Study of Social and Emotional Development (ICSSED)

The chapter is focused on the ways by which cultures impart meanings to behavior and determine how individuals (i.e. parents and peers) perceive, evaluate and react to behavior, regulating, at the same time, its developmental process. Specifically, the behavior under examination is behavioral inhibition defined as a pattern of responding or behaving such that when unfamiliar and/or challenging situation are encountered, the child show signs of reactive anxiety, distress or disorganization and the child has difficulties to calm down. Data were collected in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, India and Korea. The goal of the study was to explore cultural differences among countries regar…

Self-perceptions of competence in Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese and Italian children: Relations with social and school adjustment

The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between self-perceptions of competence and social, behavioural, and school adjustment in Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, and Italian children. Self-perception data were collected through children’s self-reports. Information about social behaviours, peer acceptance, and school achievement was obtained from peer assessments and teacher ratings. Multi-group analyses revealed similar patterns of relations between self-perceptions in scholastic and general self-worth domains and social and school performance in the four samples. However, the relations between self-perceptions of social competence and shyness and academic achievement were d…

Peer Reputation Configurations and Associations with Friendship Adjustment

Peer reputation (PR) refers to how peer groups collectively view an individual in terms of socio-behavioral characteristics, such as aggression, social withdrawal, leadership, and prosociality. Despite considerable research on PR, few studies have considered PRs in relation to indices of friendship, particularly with a person-centered approach. The goal of the current study was to adopt such an approach and identify peer reputation configurations and their defining characteristics, and to examine how such configurations are linked to friendship prevalence and quality. Four hundred and twenty-six Italian seventh-grade students (57.3% male, M-age = 12.07) completed peer nomination measures of…

The development of national and European identity: A cross-cultural comparison between Italian and Ukrainian children and adolescents.

Un’esperienza di peer-tutoring all’ateneo di Palermo

The joint effect of parental and peer support on development of adolescent's emotional autonomy and adjustment

Autonomy and Relatedness in Mother-adolescent Relationship and Parenting Stress.

Percorsi di sviluppo dell'identità europea in bambini e preadolescenti italiani

Emotional separation and detachment as two distinct dimensions of parent--adolescent relationships

The study examined adolescents’ emotional separation and detachment from parents, analyzing their relations with connectedness and agency, with some aspects of self—other boundary regulation and with problem behavior. The participants were 331 Italian adolescents, aged from 16 to 19 years (mean age = 17.40, SD = 1.14). Separation and detachment were positively related; they were negatively related to connectedness; detachment was also negatively associated to agency. Emotional separation was negatively predicted by empathic concern, perspective-taking and separate self; emotional detachment was negatively predicted by empathic concern and self—other differentiation. Separation negatively p…

Una cittadinanza europea possibile. Il contributo della psicologia

La valutazione del processo di separazione-individuazione in adolescenza

Costruire un sistema integrato per l'orientamento

La consultazione psicologica nel Centro di Orientamento e Tutorato nell'Università di Palermo.

Empatia e relazione genitori-adolescenti

Psicologia delle relazioni interetniche. Dalla teoria all’intervento

Quali sono i fattori psicologici che moderano l’incontro tra due o più gruppi etnici? Perché le relazioni interetniche sono spesso conflittuali? Quali sono le strategie più efficaci per intervenire nelle situazioni di conflitto etnico? E in che modo possono essere applicate all’interno di uno stato di nuova immigrazione, come l’Italia? Il volume propone una serie di risposte a questi interrogativi attraverso una rassegna della letteratura psicosociale sull’argomento: da un lato, si offre come uno strumento didattico per lo studente che, per la prima volta, si avvicina a queste tematiche; dall’altro, si configura come una guida per la progettazione di interventi mirati alla gestione costrutt…

La qualità delle relazioni diadiche in adolescenti timidi e aggressivi.

Inibizione comportamentale in bambini italiani, canadesi e cinesi: uno studio cross-culturale.

The development of children’s identification: A cross-cultural comparison between Bulgaria, Italy and Ukraine

The study presented here analyses the development of self-categorisation, national, supranational, local and regional identification of Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Italian children and adolescents growing up in Bulgaria, Ukraine and Italy. The sample consisted of 541 children aged 6, 9, 12 and 15 years. It was found that national, supranational, local and regional identifications differ in the three national groups. It is argued that the cognitive-developmental account of the development of national identification is unable to explain the patterns of findings which were obtained. Social representations theory and Social identity theory, however, are able to explain the different patterns of im…

Il ruolo delle caratteristiche personali nei comportamenti problematici degli adolescenti

Mediating and moderating processes in the relationship between multicultural ideology and attitudes towards immigrants in emerging adults

Few studies examine intercultural relations in emerging adulthood. Framed from the perspective of the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) project, the current paper examined the mediating role of tolerance and perceived consequences of immigration in the relationship between multicultural ideology and attitudes towards immigrants. Additionally, the moderating role of context was analysed. A two-group structural equation modelling was performed on data collected from 305 Italian emerging adults living both in northern and in southern Italy with different socio-political climates towards immigrants. In both groups, tolerance and perceived consequences of immigration me…

Qualità degli stili di attaccamento e comportamento a rischio nella prima infanzia.

Associations Among Psychologically Controlling Parenting, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Problem Behaviors During Emerging Adulthood.

ABSTRACTThe present study aimed to investigate the relations among perceived parental psychological control (PPC), autonomy and relatedness, and negative outcomes during emerging adulthood in two cultural contexts: Italy and the USA. More specifically, we explored the mechanisms through which dependency-oriented PPC (DPPC) and achievement-oriented PPC (APPC) are associated with both internalizing and externalizing difficulties, focusing on the mediating role of autonomy and relatedness. Participants were 418 European-American and 359 Italian college students. Results indicated that the expressions of PPC with regard to dependency and achievement were related to emerging adults’ negative out…

The role played by emotional support from parents and peers in the emotional autonomy development during adolescence

Autonomy and Relatedness in Mother-Adolescent Relationship: An Observational Study

I modelli di socializzazione delle famiglie immigrate

Children’s understanding of ethnic-cultural groups

SOCIAL ISOLATION AND SCHOOL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT IN THE ITALIAN CONTEXT

The European identity in adolescence. Interactions between the European, Mediterranean, national, regional and local identities among adolescents living in Sicily.

Acculturation Profiles and Perceived Discrimination: Associations with Psychosocial Well-being Among Tunisian Adolescents in Italy

Research usually analyzed the relationships between acculturation or perceived discrimination and immigrants’ well-being, but few studies used an integrative perspective. Framed from a person-oriented approach, the current paper tried to advance the literature examining how acculturation profiles and perceived (group and personal) discrimination were associated with psychosocial well-being in a sample of 348 Tunisian adolescents (females = 48.28%; mean age = 15.72) living in southern Italy. Cluster analytic methods on the scores of acculturation strategies, ethnic and national identities, ethnic and national languages, ethnic and national peer social contacts produced three acculturation pr…

Career Indecision and emotional aspects of Psychological Well-Being among young adults

Aligning personal and collective interests in emerging adults during the COVID-19 emergency in Italy

This study investigated the relations of emerging adults' personal (civic competence and interdependent self-construal) and community-based (sense of community and civic engagement) resources as predictors of appraisal of COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) and attitudes toward preventing contagion in Italy. Participants were 2873 Italian emerging adults (71% females) aged 19-30 years (M = 22.67, SD = 2.82). Structural equation modeling revealed both direct and indirect positive associations among study variables. Civic competence and interdependent self-construal were related to sense of community and civic engagement behavior which, in turn, predicted appraisal of PHEM. App…

How shall we all live together?: Meta‐analytical review of the mutual intercultural relations in plural societies project

Living together in culturally plural societies poses numerous challenges for members of ethnocultural groups and for the larger society. An important goal of these societies is to achieve positive intercultural relations among all their peoples. Successful management of these relations depends on many factors including a research-based understanding of the historical, political, economic, religious and psychological features of the groups that are in contact. The core question is ‘how we shall we all live together?’ In the project reported in this paper (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies; MIRIPS), we seek to provide such research by reviewing three core psychological hypoth…

Roma Youth

This chapter highlights the importance of integrating research on positive youth development processes in the most disadvantaged youth groups. The authors focused on Roma youth, representing a prototypical low-status minority group. The first part of the chapter examines the demographics and the socially, politically, and ideologically challenging contexts in which Roma young people are embedded, taking into account the case of Italy, one European country with high anti-Roma sentiments. The second part summarizes the literature that deals with social-psychological factors underlying the developmental functioning and optimal well-being of Roma youth in spite of adversity. The third part focu…

Relationships Between Career Indecision, Search for Work Self-Efficacy, and Psychological Well-Being in Italian Never-Employed Young Adults.

Although different studies have investigated career choices as cognitive acts of decision-making, non-cognitive components also play an important role. The study tries to develop an empirically based model of career decision-making process linking cognitive (search for work self-efficacy - SWSE) and non-cognitive (psychological well-being - PWB) components. In particular, the study investigates, among 148 never-employed Italian young adults, to what extent the relationship between SWSE and career indecision in terms of lack of readiness (LoR) can be explained by their common relationship with PWB. Results highlighted that SWSE is negatively associated with LoR when considered in absence of …

The Peer Observation: “Mentore” Project at University of Palermo

During the last 6 years at the University of Palermo, a group of academics has been involved in a project called “MENTORE” (“Modifying and ENhancing Teaching through peer Observation and Reflections with Experts.”) The objectives of the project are to help teachers improve their teaching, through the help of two mentors; to experiment new approaches in pilot courses to extend, if useful, to other ones; and to change the traditional model of academic teaching based on one single teacher with the class to go toward a model where there is a group of teachers working together in search of improvements. All the participants of the MENTORE project attend to lectures/workshops on teaching and lear…

THE INFLUENCE OF ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC IDENTITY ON PEER RELATIONSHIPS AND ON DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG IMMIGRANT ITALIAN CHILDREN

The relation between emotional support, self-concept, and social functioning among school-aged children

The study examined the relations between perceived emotional support from parents and peers, self-concept and social functioning among a sample of school-aged children. The study had three main purposes. Firstly, the study was aimed at evaluating the association between emotional support perceived from parents and peers, and self concept. Secondly, the study was aimed at inquiring the existence of different children’s profiles on the basis of the level of perceived emotional support from parents and peers, and their self-concept. Finally, the study was aimed at exploring any difference that could have emerged in their social functioning. The participants were 270 children (F = 137, M = 133)…

Latent growth curve model e simplex model: un’applicazione allo studio del programma di intervento aprender a convivir

Using Focus Group in the Development of UNIPA Emotional Autonomy Inventory

Adolescents' Emotional Autonomy from Parents A relevant tenet in developmental psychology is that adolescents are expected to achieve an autonomous functioning, independent from parents, to become reliant on their internal resources and responsible for their actions and decisions. Within this framework, emotional autonomy reflects the affective side of the largest process by which a young person acquires a more mature identity. It emerges when adolescents are capable to abandon dependence on parents and to individuate from them. Moreover, emotional autonomy implies a shift towards a less idealized conception of parental figures, the development of a more complex consideration of them as peo…

Adattamento e supporto genitoriale e amicale durante l’adolescenza

The development of children's identification with their own national, supranational, local and regional groups: A cross-cultural comparison in Italian and Ukrainian children and adolescents.

Behavioral inhibition in Italian toddlers: the role of child temperament and parenting style.

Lo psicologo scolastico e l'educazione alla cittadinanza europea

Stili di apprendimento, metodo di studio e successo accademico

Introduzione Le riforme che nell’ultimo decennio hanno interessato l’assetto formativo degli Atenei italiani hanno messo in luce la necessità di pensare a percorsi integrati e continui nel passaggio fra scuola media superiore e università. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo, appare utile quindi esplorare alcune dimensioni cruciali per garantire il successo formativo ed evitare il rischio di abbandoni. Obiettivi Scopo del presente studio è stato quello di valutare come gruppi di studenti con caratteristiche socio-demografiche e percorsi d’istruzione differenti possano distinguersi in relazione allo stile di apprendimento, alla percezione della propria motivazione e del metodo di studio utilizz…

Contributo all'adattamento italiano dell'Interpersonal Reactivity Index.

This study presents further evidence for the psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980), a widely used measure for assessing empathic responsiveness. The IRI was administered to a sample of 828 Italian adolescents (47% males), aged from 10 to 20 years (M = 14.75, SD = 2.34), in order to examine its factor structure and reliability. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the hypothesized model of the IRI, representing four domains (i.e., empathic concern, internal distress, fantasy, and perspective taking) provided a reasonable fit for data. Furthermore, the reliability of the scale was satisfactory with good internal consist…

Spirituality and Ethnocultural Empathy Among Italian Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Religious Identity Formation Processes

The current study examined the unique and combined roles of spirituality and religious identity formation processes on ethnocultural empathy among Italian youth. Spirituality was conceptualized as a desire for self-transcendence. Ethnocultural empathy entails concern for those of other cultural backgrounds. It was hypothesized that spirituality would predict ethnocultural empathy indirectly by way of religious identity commitment and in-depth exploration. Religious identity commitment is the extent to which people have invested in a particular religious worldview and community, whereas religious identity in-depth exploration is the degree to which they are actively seeking to learn more abo…

Individualità e intimità nelle relazioni fra geniotri e figli in adolescenza: Il caso dei distaccati e dei connessi

The purpose of this study was to investigate in deep Detached and Connected adolescents in order to examine their profiles with regards to internalizing and externalizing behavioral prpblems. The participants were 705 adolescents aged from 14 to 19 years. they were administered (a) the Inclusion of Other in the Self to assess adolescents' perception of intimacy with parents; (b) the Emotional Autonomy Scale to evaluate adolescents' emotional autonomy from parents; (c) the Youth self-Report to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. On the basis of intimacy and autonomy scores, 129 participants were classified as Detached and 122 as Connected. A cluster analysis was then performed o…

Supporto percepito: genitori e amici a confronto

Associations between perceived parental psychological control and internalizing difficulties in emerging adulthood: the role of identity

Our study investigated the associations among two expressions of perceived parental psychological control (dependency-oriented parental control [DPC] and achievement-oriented parental control [APC]), identity, and internalizing difficulties among college-attending emerging adults. In particular, our aim was to examine the potential role of identity in the pathways linking both DPC and APC to internalizing difficulties. Our participants included 495 Italian college students (49% males), between 19 and 28 years of age (mean = 23.37 years, standard deviation = 2.35). Our findings highlighted the existence of associations between APC, identity, and internalizing difficulties. Specifically, APC…

Development of a Brief Form of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (B–IRI)

ABSTRACTThe Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is a standardized self-report measure of disposition to empathic responsiveness for the general adult population (the domain for which it was developed), and for the general adolescent population. The IRI has a number of problems, however, including some uncertainty about its factor structure, low reliabilities, and poor readability of some items for people with limited literacy skills. To address these issues, we constructed an abbreviated form of the index, the Brief IRI (B–IRI). Three studies demonstrated that this 16-item B–IRI has a clear and coherent factor structure, adequate internal consistency, measurement invariance across gender a…

Training citizenship and intercultural education in Europe: an introduction to the Tra.C.I.E. project.

The Contribution of Religiosity and Optimism on Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults in Italy

In line with Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework positing that religion can provide youth with resources to thrive, this chapter presents a contribution analyzing the associations between religiosity and well-being among middle and late adolescents, and emerging adults in Italy. In fact, this country is a relevant context for studying this topic, considering the social and historical presence of Catholicism. We conceptualized religiosity as religious commitment and well-being as life satisfaction. Then, we focused on the mediating role of optimism between these two constructs and investigated differences among age groups concerning those associations. A multiple-group path analysis r…

Mothers' parenting stress and adolescents' emotional separation: The role of youngsters' self orientation

The study examined the association among mothers’ parenting stress, adolescents’ emotional separation and self-orientation toward connectedness. Participants were 194 Italian adolescents, aged from 15 to 19 years (mean age = 17.39, SD = 1.18), and their mothers, aged from 33 to 64 years (mean age = 44.35, SD = 5.40). General findings showed that adolescents’ emotional separation may not necessarily be associated with their mothers’ parenting stress, but both of these variables may be related to adolescents’ personal characteristics, which may contribute to define parent-child relationship. Particularly, adolescents’ orientation towards a connected self was associated negatively with emotion…

Manual Tra.C.I.E - Formarea în domeniul educaŃiei interculturale si pentru cetăŃenie activă în Europa

Inibizione comportamentale e stile di parenting in un’ottica cross-culturale: un confronto tra Italia, Canada e Cina.

L'autonomia emotiva in adolescenza

Il volume fornisce un'ampia e articolata panoramica su uno dei compiti di sviluppo fondamentali dell'adolescenza: la conquista dell'autonomia psicologica. Gli autori illustrano il costrutto di autonomia adolescenziale nei suoi aspetti generali per poi offrirne una visione complessa, in cui il fenomeno è contestualizzato all'interno delle dinamiche e dei processi che caratterizzano il passaggio dall'adolescenza alla maturità.

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

Autonomy and relatedness are fundamental needs both in adolescence and in emerging adulthood which are affected by parental support and are linked to children’s psychological distress. The study investigated autonomy and relatedness in late adolescents and emerging adults living in Italy, analyzing the relationships with perceived parental support and psychological distress. Self-report data were collected from a sample of 325 Caucasian adolescents and emerging adults (males = 41 %) ranging in age from 17 to 26 years and living in Sicily (southern Italy). Results showed that: (a) both autonomy and relatedness were positively predicted by parental support to these needs, (b) perceived suppor…